News update! The physical CD stock has come to an end, only a few left! From now on, if anyone would like to get ‘Imeall’, you will have to digitally download it from this website! I want to thank you all for the wonderful response to this very personal project which I sincerely enjoyed recording and performing.

I am hoping to start another solo project in the New Year as soon as the latest Altan CD, ‘The Poison Glen’ is completed, which will be very soon. I have to thank a few people for their hard work and support during the Imeall project: Manus Lunny, Angela McLaughlin, í‰daí­n O’Donnell and Robbi McMillen. I could not have done this without all your help and support!

At the moment the Altan album is going well and taking a very new musical direction, which is interesting. There is a lot of potential musically in the band and it is nice to discover new paths in which to take our music!

We hope to play these new pieces in McGrory’s Culdaff on the 28th December and at The Frankie Kennedy Winter School on January 1^st 2012 in Dunlewey, Co. Donegal.

Until then I want to wish you a Nollaig Shona agus Bliain íšr fé Mháise! Season’s Greetings!

Mairéad

On Tuesday, 10th May, a host of traditional music legends will show their solidarity with the people of Japan by holding a special fundraising concert in The Button Factory, Dublin. T with the Maggies, Altan, Dervish, Liam í“ Maonlaí­ and Dónal Lunny will whip out the jigs, reels and beautiful ballads on the night in a celebration of traditional music.

All of us in the trad world wanted to do something after the years of support the Japanese have given to both Altan and the other bands.
– Mairéad

The concert will be streamed live online so that people in Japan can see that Ireland is in solidarity with them. All the groups and musicians have a huge following in Japan where some fans are so dedicated to Irish traditional culture and music that they even learn to speak Gaeilge.

“All of us in the trad world wanted to do something after the years of support the Japanese have given to both Altan and the other bands. This is our small way of showing that they are in our thoughts. We guarantee a great night on May 10th and you can be sure that a few surprise guests will show up also!” said Mairéad Ní­ Mhaonaigh, Altan & T with the Maggies, who is co-organizing the concert.

The concert is being co-organized with Chika Usami who is from Iwaki City, Fukushima, Japan but lives in Ireland. Chika said, “If I had been in Iwaki during the earthquake I would have been affected, my friends and family are still under threat from the nuclear power plant which is only 40km away, and I thought there must have been a reason for me to have been in Ireland. I wanted to do something to help Japan and tried to think what connected Ireland and Iwaki and I thought of Altan. They had performed in Iwaki in 2009 and I had met Altan after the concert and they invited me to come to Ireland sometime. Part of the reason I came to Ireland was because of how much I enjoy traditional Irish music and culture.”

The ‘In Solidarity with the People of Japan’ concert will take place at 8pm on Tuesday May 10th in The Button Factory, Temple Bar. Tickets are available from www.tickets.ie and are priced at €20. All proceeds will go to Aid Japan and The Japanese Red Cross.

Mairéad’s first solo project, ‘Imeall’ is now available to download exclusively here, at Mairéad.ie – as are the last few copies of the limited edition, individually numbered physical copies.

Imeall, which is Gaelic for edge, rim or threshold is Mairéad’s first solo project, a personal collection of songs and tunes, both new and old. Lyrics for Imeall and descriptions of Mairéad’s tracks are also now available from the music page!

If you need any help, just drop us an email at sales@mairead.ie and we’ll get back to you as quickly as possible.

Let’s get our iTunes’ excited!!
All at Mairéad HQ x

“Anois teacht an Earraigh,
Beidh an lá ‘dul chun sí­neadh,
‘S tar éis na ‘Féil Bhrí­de ardóidh mé mo sheol…”
– Cill Aodáin, Antaine í“ Raifteirí­ (1784-1835)

Spring is in the air here in Donegal and the sun is surprisingly shining on a calm Atlantic!

I was just looking at my updates… very lazy doing them, as I’m busy with travel and my work. Altan are preparing to go into the studio soon to record a new album which we are all excited about!

Myself and Manus Lunny are just back from Brussels last weekend, after playing the wonderful Wolubilis Theatre. It happened to be Manus’ birthday and I got the audience to sing him happy birthday – just to celebrate!

I had a great time in France the previous week, when Altan had a few gigs in Brittany, Normandy and Paris. I got a chance to hear some beautiful Azerbaijani music on my night off in Paris en-route to Belgium. A must to hear… beautiful and powerful!

I’m nearly out of my solo CD, ‘Imeall’ of which I only made 3,000 copies of and I am NOT printing any other copies! The last few can be bought only online here, from my website, or at live concerts. This was the decision which I made initially, as I wanted to record my music not for money but to share and just cover my costs.

I am preparing for the USA tour now which begins in Dallas, Texas, on the 4th. March. Check the Altan website for details.

I am really looking forward to this tour and hopefully will meet all my friends over the time I’m there!

Mairéad x

PS: To see the words of the songs and translations check out the music page.
To see the links, click on contact
To see Altan… come to the gigs!

I just realized that I haven’t been updating my webpage as I have been too busy! In the studio at the moment with T with the Maggies to record a new album and having such a great and fruitful time! 11 tracks down do far, not bad for a few days work!

Manus Lunny and I are talking of making a new recording starting as soon as this project is finished, so I will keep you posted!

Altan are very busy this summer. We are just back from Italy where we played a lovely concert with a local Italian orchestra in Bobbio, where the Irish monk St. Columbanus had a monastery and is buried.

I will be playing a solo gig here in Co. Donegal on August 7th as part of the Kilcar Festival, and the wonderful Mark Kelly will be accompanying me on that night! The Mary from Dungloe festival opens this Saturday and I have been given the honour to do the opening, so that should be good fun!

Altan will be playing the Buncrana Festival this Sunday 25th July, on the Guinness Rig, Shore Front.

I am looking forward to the Leonard Cohen concert in Lissadell before heading to Italy again with Donal Siggins, Emer Mayock and Steve Larkin, wonderful musicians! Altan then head to Spain and finish in Bilbao on the 25th of August, a fantastic city!

So it’s non stop, ach tá an saol go maith!

Mairéad x

Maireád Ní­ Mhaonaigh has been announced as 2009 Donegal Person of the Year. The announcement was made at a Donegal Association function in Foley’s Bar, Merrion Row, Dublin on the evening of Thursday 28 Jan.

Talking to The Donegal News, Mairéad said “This year is Altan’s 25th anniversary and getting this award for me is just the crowning glory – it’s the icing on the cake. I am so looking forward to the presentation night in the Burlington Hotel on February 28. We have a lot of musical friends coming along and we hope to have many stars from Donegal. It really is such an honour and I am very grateful to the Donegal Association.” We’re all so excited at Mairéad HQ!

This is the 75th anniversary of the Donegal Association’s work, and the 32nd Year of the ‘Person of the Year’ award and so is a very special celebratory year for the association. Mairéad Ní­ Mhaonaigh is the 4th female to receive the honor. You can get more details on the association from their website.

Maireád will be inaugurated as Donegal Person of the Year at the Annual Gala Dinner which is again at the Burlington Hotel this year and will be held on Saturday 27th February.

If you want to share in this very special evening and award with Mairéad, her family and friends, you can purchase tickets directly from the Donegal Association. It would be great to see you there !

Tickets priced at €65 are available from any member of the Committee of the Donegal Association; by email to donegalassociation@eircom.net; by post to Sorcha Ní­ Dhomhnaill, Secretary, Donegal Association, c/o Teachers Club,35 Parnell Square, Dublin 1

Bliain mhór os ar gcomhar! Mairéad Ní­ Mhaonaigh has been nominated for a Meteor Award, Ireland’s music industry awards. Mairéad, who is nominated in the ‘Best Folk / Traditional’ non-voting category stands alongside musicians and singers of the highest calibre: Sharon Shannon, Christy Moore, Kí­la with Bruno Coulais and Kathleen Loughnane. This is so exciting for everyone at Mairéad HQ, and coincides with Mairéad’s 2010 Ní­ Mhaonaigh-Lunny dates for ‘Imeall’, Mairéad’s first solo project. We hope to see you at one of Mairéad and Manus’ gigs this year, make sure to tune into the awards, which take place on February 19th and will be broadcast that night or on the weekend of the event.

Thanks so much to everyone for their support and for getting the word out on ‘Imeall’. Have a fantastic new year!

Le beannacht agus buí­ochas,
Everyone at Mairéad HQ.x

Beannachtaí­ na Bliana íšire oraibh uilig ó chósta shiocanach Thí­r Chonaill. We are snowed in here in North West Donegal… it may be cold, but the crisp sharp light on the water makes up for it! Errigle is covered with dust like snow for over ten days now which gave a christmas card backdrop to this year’s Frankie Kennedy Winter School. The school is now in it’s 16th year and although alot of regulars were unable to travel to it because of the bad weather it was still a huge success.

Audiences and students made their way to the various classes and concerts against all odds. I’m really looking forward to 2010 as this is Altan’s 25th Anniversary year ! Manus Lunny and I are heading to Celtic Connections in Glasgow this month on the 17th and 27th for a few concerts… better Glasgow than Moscow… actually Moscow would be nice too!!

Altan are playing in Theatre de la Ville, Paris, France on the 8th.and 9th of January. Angela McLaughlin has put together a few gigs for Manus and I all over Ireland in February, we are really looking forward to that, just check the gig list! Altan are going to be in the US for most of the month of March so we are really looking forward to that – will keep you posted!

Actually the new album with the RTí‰ Concert Orchestra was officially launched in Japan when we toured there before Christmas. It was for sale here in Co. Donegal at the Winter School but it will be officially launched here in February or March.

Mairéad

Ag súil go mór le dhul go dtí­ Briotáin na Fraince arí­s ag deireadh na mí­osa. Tá muid iontach gnóthach ag iarraidh crut a chuir ar an dlúthdhiosca úr le h-Altan le ceolfhoireann RTí‰. Beidh sé a lainseáil sa t-Seapáin sula dtig sé amach ar an taobh seo den domhan.

Manus Lunny, Jim Higgins and myself are heading to Nantes to La Bouche D’Air Théatre on the 24th of November to play some of my Imeall material for the first time in Breizh!!!

Then Manus and myself head to Drogheda on the 28th to play in An Droichead Arts Centre….a place that has very strong connections with my family as my father taught there many years ago.Joining us on the night are three of my favourite musicians; John and Jacinta McEvoy and the wonderful John Wynne.

On December the 3rd Altan head off to tour Japan. What a beautiful country! I would honestly say that it is the most exotic place that I have ever visited. This will be our fifth or sixth visit to “The Land of the Rising Sun” and we are looking forward to meeting all our old friends and making new ones!!!

The Frankie Kennedy Winter School is celebrating it’s 16th year and this year it has a wonderful line up: The West Ocean Quartet, the multitalented Liam í“ Maonlaí­, Fidil and Altan will be playing at the final concert of the School on the 1st of January 2010 in Ionad Cois Locha, Dún Lúiche.

Theatre de la Ville in Paris will be the next venue that Altan will perform in on the 8th and 9th of January. Then Manus and I will head to the Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow for the 17th and 27th of January before heading around Ireland to do a few gigs , which we will post on the site as soon as they are all confirmed!

Altan will be touring the USA during the month of March….celebrating 25 years on the road…seems like yesterday!

Mairéad and Manus Lunny will be performing at Ceolchoirm an Oireachtais in Letterkenny, Co. Donegal on October 28th. In their company will be Fidil, Seamus Begley, Tim Edey and Seosamh í“ Neachtáin. Afterwards, Mairéad and Manus will be entertaining on Halloween night in the Séamus Ennis Cultural Centre in Naul in Co. Dublin. More information on the gigs page! A fun Halloween ahead…